The Queen Mary - Dark Harbor

2^nd August 2021

Dear Mayor Garcia,

With August upon us it’s time to ask if the Queen Mary will be hosting Dark Harbor this year. This is the Halloween event that was the most famous of her yearly repertoire, it was a big money maker from what I know, and had little to do with the ship herself.

With covid always hovering over your heads a group of walk through mazes may not be an option, but a pay by the car drive through show could be a thing, and it would show that the ship is still hanging on. If the city herself will be keeping control of the ship, a good idea given past miss-management, this is a great way to get your feet in the water.

The good old foot mazes were the better option because vendors can be added and that would lead to more income, but again, getting the ball rolling on making money is always better than sitting about. Items like collector cups and tee-shirts can be available at the beginning and end of the attractions and souvenir photographs can still be taken with some of your monsters.

When I attended Dark Harbor I only recall one of the handful of mazes entering the ship herself, and there is no way to drive a car onto the old girl.  For the most part, until she is safe the Queen Mary will be little more than a backdrop for events, but those events are still important.

Best,

 

Richard Leland Neal

 

 

The Queen Mary - Ingenuity and Elbow Grease

26^th July 2021

Dear Mayor Garcia,

I was chewing the problems facing The Queen Mary over in my mind when an idea came up. Have we considered using the open parking lots of the ship’s complex for a swap meet? It would bring in some money in the short term and get people used to going to the ship.

The first problem with The Queen Mary is that she is expensive to maintain, but the second problem she has is that there is nothing to do around her. A swap meet with oddities and inexpensive food would give more of the citizens a reason to frequent the attraction. With more people there would be more popularity and more interest.

Once you have a good attendance going more expensive attractions can be added that upgrade the draw. This would give you the flexibility to add one attraction at a time, and attendance at amusement parks tend to rise with the addition of attractions. 

There are already a group of buildings associated with the ship that I believe were some kind of shopping district. Those shops and attractions would be the least expensive to reopen and they could focus on oddities like Japanese products hard to find in America. The Queen Mary could be the only place in Long Beach where you can get a Mango Kit Kat or a Salted Caramel Pepsi. Both of these are real products and people pay out the nose for them in the United States.

The truth is that you need a long term plan to save The Queen Mary and a short term project to get her moving in the right direction. In one year, we want the ship back open and seeing to guests, in ten years we want to see her fully restored and making money, if fifty we want to see her as the heart of a group of attractions that brings pride to the city and tourists from all over the world.  

The Queen Mary has become a mark of greatness for the state of California, and we need to hold her up high. This is as much a matter of ingenuity as it is elbow grease and a measure not just of our economy but of our spirit.

Stay strong,

 

Richard Leland Neal

The Queen Mary - Meant to Be

 

22^nd July 2021

Dear Mayor Garcia,

 I was truly disturbed to hear in recent news that the scrapping of The Queen Mary was still an option. Whereas it pains me even to think of this there are still two courses of action that should be placed before the city. One would be to fill the ship’s enclosure with something like sand or concrete which would prevent it from sinking. The second would be to open the enclosure, and tow the ship out to see where it could be made into a reef. 

The first option is one that would need to be taken up with an engineer. I would have to think that sand would be your cheapest solution, but once it’s in there is no turning back. Getting it out would be more costly than water. The most expensive and best option would be to turn the enclosure into a dry dock. This would come with its own technical issues. However, the ship would be preserved as a hotel. It would simply no longer be a floating hotel.

Towing the ship out to see and dedicating it as a reef would be a risky proposition, but it would better the environment and keep it as some kind of tourist attraction. Divers could still visit the wreck, and it would still bring some money into Long Beach. Moreover, it would be a small push against global warming and you would save face over scrapping her.

Keeping the ship above water is going to be a battle involving creative ideas, setbacks, innovation, and lots of money. Losing her would be crippling to the legacy of whoever signs the papers that let her go. The vast changes to tourism needed to make The Queen Mary hold water as an investment in Long Beach would be a good thing for the city, but, well, maybe it’s just not meant to be.

Best,

 

Richard Leland Neal

The Queen Mary - Solar Cells

23^rd June 2021

Dear Mayor Garcia,

Another in my ideas for saving The Queen Mary would be to make the overall property “greener” with solar cells. Partnering with a major company would mean a joint commercial for the ship which would reduce promotional costs. Something along the lines of a commercial saying “The Queen Mary trusts so and so to power dreams. Shouldn’t you?’

Certainly we couldn’t put solar cells on the ship herself but on the parking structure and the gangways. Hit up companies like Tesla and see if we could get the cells donated and the billionaire on the other end of that conversation may just write a check to repair the whole ship.

One of the two big problems with keeping The Queen Mary hotel afloat is that you’re paying not just to keep up a building, but also an ocean liner that is well past its life expectancy. The added maintenance means that in order to make the ship turn a profit some amount of reducing her upkeep will be needed.

The goal would be to get so many solar cells in there that the ship can make some money off selling the power. It would also mean turning up the air in the summer to attract more patrons wouldn’t be out of the question. Making Mary a cool place to beat the heat would attract more people.

This won’t save The Queen Mary in and of itself. This is but one piece of a large puzzle that will take years to assemble. The only real guide we have is that every piece counts.

Best,

 

Richard Leland Neal

The Queen Mary - Ads

16th June 2021

Dear Mayor Garcia,

Again I wish to speak to you of the state of the iconic Queen Mary. Repairs to the ship will cost a good deal of money, and every little bit helps.  Have you considered placing Google ads on the website?

This would be inexpensive, add revenue to the project, and given that you need a webmaster regardless of doing so should have little impact on the overall maintenance project. In other words, not doing so would be like throwing away money.

I have a number of blogs which I have Google Ads posted on and they do bring in some income. Not enough so that I can live off of it, but a good fewer people care about me than care about The Queen Mary Hotel.

 The addition of Google ads on Mary’s website could at least make the website pay for itself, and that would not only be one less problem but open the way to adding other web related features. Virtual tours, feature commercials, and walkthroughs of attractions can all become cash cows of the hotel hosted by YouTube for free and embedded on the hotels website.

Being far from residential areas The Queen Mary was perhaps harder hit by the pandemic, and finding some way to keep money coming in even if this happens again is a priority.

Not everyone in Long Beach can go eat at one of Mary’s restaurants or take a tour and see her rich history and splendor. Few in this struggling economy across America and the world have the funds to come visit the majestic ship. However, with a Google ads account means that every person with an internet connection can do something for free that could help save The Queen Mary.

Often the best answer is to bring people together,

 

Richard Leland Neal